Defending the best shooter in the NBA

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry made 272 3-pointers this season, more than any other player in NBA history.

He torched Denver for 23 more in Golden State’s first-round upset.

The task of keeping Curry in check now falls to the Spurs, who have a very clear idea of how they want to defend the baby-faced sharpshooter during their Western Conference semifinal series.

“You don’t want to let him play freely,” Manu Ginobili said, “so you want to pressure him and get him off the three-point line. He makes things easier in the sense that you don’t have to think much. You’ve just got to get into him.

“No one can guard a player like that one on one when he is so skilled. We’re going to have to get out on him and then the team is going to have to respond.”

Far easier said than done.

Besides the volume and accuracy of Curry’s 3-point shooting, the most impressive facet is his versatility. He took at least 100 attempts in four different play types as charted by Synergy Sports — spot ups (53.4 percent), transition (52.3 percent), pick and rolls as the ballhandler (44.3 percent) and coming off screens (37.7).

The latter is his lowest percentage on any play type he had more than 20 attempts, and he was still above league average. As such, wanting to run Curry off the 3-point line and actually doing it are often two very different things.

“I wouldn’t try to force him to do anything,” he said. “I would play him straight up because he is too good. He is such a smart player and has so much skill, all he does is see what you’re trying to do to him and counter.”

While they no longer have a stopper like Bowen, the Spurs have generally defended Curry well this season.

He did light them up for 35 points in the most recent meeting, a performance Spurs coach Gregg Popovich likened to watching Michael Jordan. But it came with Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan all sitting on the bench. Before that, the Spurs held him to 6-for-17 and 8-for-20 shooting.

(It should also noted that the Spurs ranked at or near the top of the league in 3-point defense before a huge dip in form over the final 20-some games knocked them down to 12th.)

The following is a sampling of how the defended Curry on a handful of shots from those two games.

First, we’ll look at some mistakes.

A multitude of breakdowns here. First, Danny Green gets wiped out by a double screen after biting on Curry’s hesitation dribble to the right. Then, neither Tim Duncan nor Tiago Splitter step up to cover for him. The result: A wide-open 3 from the top of the key, which might as well be a breakaway layup for Curry. Swish.

For most players, it doesn’t get more low percentage than a pull-up 3 on the break. Not for Curry, who shoots 52.3 percent beyond the arc in transition. Here, Tony Parker sags off just enough to give Curry space. Parker does recover to make a decent contest, and Curry misses. But the point is clear: Give Curry even an inch at your peril.

Kawhi Leonard starts off well, fighting through an initial screen to keep his body on Curry. Then, disaster. Curry cuts through a thicket of bodies off the ball, a la Reggie Miller, and pivots into a pocket pass from Jarrett Jack for a wide open look. Making matters worse, Leonard fouls the screener to give the Warriors a four-point opportunity.

And now, the good.

Much, much better from Green and Duncan. Duncan sags off David Lee to help Green thwart Curry on the initial action. Curry then gives the ball up to Lee, cannot shake Green loose with a quick cut toward the basket, and gets it back in isolation. Green is in perfect position to get a hand in Curry’s face as he misfires from the corner.

Here’s an illustration of the teamwork needed to contain a shooter like Curry. Leonard and Parker are both keeping a close eye on Curry as he rolls off a screen into the paint. Both are caught up. But unlike the first play, when Curry dribbled into an open shot, Splitter steps up to make the contest as he misses a push shot just below the foul line.

Screen/rolls take teamwork, but sometimes the initial defender has to do the job on his own. Such is the case here, when Duncan’s reluctance to step too far away from the paint leaves Cory Joseph on an island with Curry and Andrew Bogut. The youngster is up to the task, battling through a solid pick by Bogut to force a miss.

In a sense, guarding Curry isn’t much different than defending an elite quarterback in football. Static coverage just isn’t going to work. Which is why Ginobili anticipates every member of the Spurs’ perimeter corps will get a shot at Curry at some point during this series.

Whether that’s enough to slow down the red-hot Curry remains to be seen.